Slidable seat



Dec. 20, 1938. E. RICHTER ET AL 2,141,093

SLIDABLE SEAT Original Filed Jan. 14, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet l az o .74 s a3 AA/A E "Z36 P.

Dec. 20, 1938. E. RICHTER ET AL 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 SLIDABLE SEAT OriginalFiled Jan. 14, 1935 Il ICIHIHEI Dec. 20,1938.

E. RICHTER ET AL SLIDABLE SEAT I 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed Jan.14, 1935 Patented Dec. 20, 1938 PATENT" mm SLIDABLE SEAT Edward Richterand Earl L. Schofleld, Freeport, lll., assignors to Henney MotorCompany, Freeport, 11]., a corporation of Delaware Original applicationJanuary 14, 1935, Serial 1,750. Divided and this application May 1935,Serial No. 22,128

'1 Claims.

of the seat to an out-of-the-way position when.

the casket table is to be extended from the hearse.

The principal object of our invention is to provide a seat mountingwhich permits quick and easy movement of the seat back and forth and thequickly releasable locking of the seat in its normal or adjustedpositions and, should occasion require, the easy removal and replacementof the seat.

Another important object consists in the provision of meanswherebyeither seat, although of a heavy rigid-back type, may be quicklyreleasably supported in forwardly tilted position when additionalclearance is required to avoid interference with a casket of unusualsize.

This application is a division of our copending iligizpslication SerialNo. 1,750, filed January 14,

The invention will readily appear in the following detailed description,in which reference is made to the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure1 is a view partly in plan and partly in horizontal section through thebody of a hearse showing the left seat in normal position and themechanism for the right seat in forward position;

Fig. -2 is a vertical section on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1, furtherdisclosing the mound structure;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged horizontal section on the line 33 of Fig. 2,showing the manually releasable lock for the seats;

Fig. 4 is a side view of one of the seats showing the improved prop forholding the same in tilted position;

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail of the prop on a larger scale;-

Fig. 6 is a front view of a seat;

Figs. 7 and 8 are a front view and side view, respectively, of oneof theadjustable front rollers for the seat;

Fig. 9 is a section on the line 9--9 of Fig. 6, showing the seat slideand its hinge connection with the seat, and

Fig. 10 is a section in a transverse plane on the line I0lll of Fig. 9,showing the bolt for locking the seat in any one of four positions offore and aft adjustment with respect to the slide.

The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding partsthroughout the views.

Referring first in a general way .to Figures 1 and 2, l6 designates thebody of. a hearse having the usual doors I! for use of the driver and apassenger occupying seats 18 and I9, and having other side doors 20arranged to be opened only when a casket is to be loaded or unloaded.The casket (not shown) is supported on the table 2| movable relative toa raised platform or mound 22 which extends the full length of the bodyfrom the rear door up to the seats l8-l9. The extent to which the mound22 is elevated with respect to the floor 24 on which the seats l8 and I9rest clearly appears in Fig. 2. The table 2|, as disclosed in the parentapplication, is guided in its movement to and from extended position bythree pins, the front one of which is numbered 25 and is arranged to belocked in a switch member 28 or to move laterally in either one of twoguides 29 when the member 28 is turned one way or the other. Thus, inFig. 1, the pin 25, and hence the table 2|, is movable toward the right,due to the fact that the switch member 28 has been turned as a result ofthe forward movement of. the right seat l9. The seats l8 and 19 areattached to guide rods or slides 34 and 35, respectively, slidable intubular guides 36 projecting forwardly from the front wall 31 of themound 22. The rods 34-35 project rearwardly under the mound and areconnected at their rear ends by means of links 3411-3511. to arms34b-35b pivoted on a stem projecting downwardly from the switch member28. These arms serve to operate the switch member 28 in a manner fullydisclosed in the parent application.

The seats Ill-l9 are arranged to be locked in their normal position andalso in their forward position, but the seat l8 may be released bypulling out a knob l8a from the side of the mound 22. A similar knob l9ais provided for the seat 19. Viewing Fig. 3, it will be seen that themanually operable knob is connected through a rod 44 with a latch 45,slidable in a guide 45 mounted on the inside of the front wall 31 of themound, and arranged to enter either one of two notches 46, and 41provided in the side of the guide rod 34 (and 35). The latch 45 is urgedtoward engagement with the guide rod by a coiled compression spring 48,as shown, the spring being seated on a projection 49 formed preferablyintegral with the aforesaid guide 45'. When the seat is to be movedforward, the knob l8a is pulled out to withdraw the latch 45 from thenotch 46. Then, when the seat has been moved forward far enough, thelatch 45 enters the notch 41, thus looking the seat in its forwardposition. A rubber roller 50 rotatably mounted on a stud 5| projectingfrom the side of the rod 34 (and 35) adjacent the notch 41, strikes apart of the guide 45' just prior to the registration of the notch 41with the latch 45 and serves to limit the forward movement, while at thesame time making the operation as noiseless as possible. The returnmovement is also limited by a stop collar 52 provided on the guide rod34 (and 35) and arranged to strike the front end of the guide 36, buthave such engagement cushioned by a rubber ring 53 interposed betweenthe collar and guide and surrounding the rod, as clearly indicated inFig. 9.

Each seat has a fork 54 projecting downwardly from the bottom thereof atthe middle of the front end, directly over the rod 34 (and 35), seeFigs. 6, 9 and 10. The tubular member 55, fitting on the rod 34, has aing 56 projecting upwardly therefrom into the fork 54 and hinged theretoon a bolt 51 received in either one of two vertically spaced holes d ande provided in the lug. The

need for these holes will be apparent later when the seat adjustment, asshown in Figs. 7 and 8, is described. Furthermore, the purpose of havingthe seats hinged with respect to their guide rods will appear when theprop for supporting the seats in tilted position illustrated in Figs. 4and 5, is described. A series of four longitudinally spaced sockets ,f,g, h and i is provided in the side of the rod 34 (and 35), and a springpressed plunger 58 operable by means of a knob 59 against the action ofthe spring 60 is arranged to be entered in either one of these socketsand accordingly make a fore and aft adjustment of the seat on its guiderod. A hollow boss 6| projecting from the side of the member provides abearing for the plunger 58 and a housing for its spring 60, as clearlyappears in Fig. 10. A pin 62' screwed into a hole in the front end ofthe rod 34 (and 35) prevents disengagement of a seat from its guide rodin the fore and aft adjustment, but these pins may be removed easily inthe event it is desired to remove a seat, as for example, for cleaningor repairing the seat, or reupholstering the same.

The hinging of the seats relative to their guide rods permits forwardtilting, as indicated in Fig. 4, as, for example, where additionalclearance is needed owing' to the unusual size of the casket. A prop 62is extensible from the bottom of each seat at the back and is arrangedto be releasably locked in extended position to support the seat in itstilted position so long as desired. The prop is in the form of a rodreciprocable in a U-shaped bracket 63 mounted in the back of the seat atthe bottom. A long coiled compression spring 64 surrounds the upper endof the rod and bears at its lower end on the bracket 63 and at its upperend on a washer 65 retained by a cotter pin 66. This spring normallyholds the prop in its raised retracted position so that only the knob 61provided on the lower end of the prop is left projecting from the bottomof the seat, as indicated in Fig. 2. The knob serves both as a handle bymeans of which the prop may be pulled out against the action of itsspring 64 and as a foot to bear on the floor to support the seat intilted position. There is sufficient play in the bearing at 68 so thatthe prop when extended can-be moved forwardly so as to engage a lug 69on the bracket 63 in a notch 10 provided in the side of the prop. Inthat way, the prop is positively held in extended position and cansustain the weight of the seat. When the seat is to be returned to itsnormal position, the prop is moved to the rear enough to disengage thelug 69 from the notch 10, whereupon the prop will return to itsretracted position under the action spring.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 6-8, it will be seen that the seats havepairs of front and rear rollers H and 12 for support thereof, theserollers resting normally on metal tracks 13 fastened to the floor. Thefront rollers II have their forks l4 adjustably secured to brackets 15projecting downwardly from the bottom of the seat, adjustability beingafforded by the bolts 16 entered through vertical slots I1 in thebrackets 15 and threaded in the forks 14. The desired inclination of theseat is, therefore, easily secured by merely adjusting the frontrollers. When such an adjustment is made, the bolt 51 has to be removedand entered in the proper hole d or e in the lu 56 of the associatedcrosshead 55.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding ofthe various objects of our invention. It should be clear that the slid-,able seat mounting herein disclosed may be used in other vehiclesindependently of any mechanical connection with a casket table switchingmechanism. Then, too, it will be evident that the guide rods and theircooperating guides may, if so desired, be provided in or below the floorinstead of above the fioor as herein disclosed, with the crosshead 55movable in slots in the floor. The disposition of the guide rods andguides therefor above the floor level is also not considered essentialin a hearse construction, although it facilitates connection with theswitch mechanism in the mound as herein disclosed. The appended claimshave been drawn with a view to covering all legitimate modifications andadaptations.

We claim: I

1. In a slidable seat, the combination with a support and a seat restingdirectly thereon and slidable relative thereto, of a single, rigidlysupported tubular guide disposed in a median plane relative to said seatextending parallel to said support and in the direction of movement ofthe seat and therebeneath, a single rod reciprocable of its in saidguide, means cooperating with one end of said rod for releasably lockingthe same in a selected position to said guide. and means cooperatingwith the other end of said rod for adjustably connecting the seat to therod, whereby to permit adjustment back and forth relative to the guidein the direction of movement of the seat.

2. In a slidable seat, the combination with a support and a seat restingdirectly thereon and slidable relative thereto, of a single, rigidly supported tubular guide disposed in a median plane relative to said seatextending parallel to said support and in the direction of movement ofthe seat and therebeneath, a single rod reciprocable in said guide,means cooperating with oneend of said rod for releasably locking thesame in a selected position to said guide, the other end of said rodhaving a plurality of longitudinally spaced recesses provided therein,and a tubular member mounted on said seat and slidable on said rodrelative to said recesses, and having a detent thereon arranged to beentered selectively in any one of said recesses to adjustably secure theseat to the'rod and accordingly permit adjustment of the seat relativeto the guide and locking means.

3. In a slidable seat, the combination with a support and a seat restingdirectly thereon and slidable relative thereto, of a single, rigidlysupported tubular guide disposed in a median plane relative to thesupport, rollers on the bottom of the seat at the back thereof arrangedto engage said support, and other rollers vertically adjustably mountedon the bottom of the seat at the front thereof and also arranged toengage said support 4. A seat as set forth in claim 1 including a stopremovably mounted on the end of each rod arranged normally to limitforward adjustment of the seats relative to the rods but adapted uponremoval to permit removal of the seats from connection with the rods.

5. A seat-as set forth in claim 2 including a stop removably mounted onthe end of each rod arranged normally to limit forward adjustment of theseats relative to the rods but adapted upon removal to permit removal ofthe seats from connection with the rods.

6. In a slidable seat, the combination with a support and a seat restingdirectly thereon and slidable relative thereto, of a single, rigidlysupported tubular guide disposed in a median plane relative to said seatextending parallel to said support and in the direction of movement ofthe seat and therebeneath, a single rod reciprocable in said guide, ahinge member on the rod and another hinge member on the bottom of theseat at the front thereof for hingedly connecting the seat to the rod,said hinge members comprising relatively slidable abutting connectingportions for hingedly connecting the front end of said seat to the rodat a desired elevation of the seat relative to the support, and rollerson the bottom of the seat at the back thereof arranged to engage saidsupport.

7. In a slidable seat, the combination with a support anda seat restingdirectly thereon and slidable relative thereto, of a single, rigidlysupported tubular guide disposed in a median plane relative to said seatextending parallel to said support and in the direction of movement ofthe seat and therebeneath, a single rod reciprocable in said guide, ahinge member on the rod and another hinge member on the bottom of theseat at the front thereof for hingedly connecting the seat to the rod,said hinge members comprising relatively slidable abutting connectingportions for hingedly connecting the front end of said seat to the rodat a desired elevation of the seat relative to the support, and rollersvertically adjustably mounted on the bottom of theseat and arranged toengage said support.

EDWARD RICHTER.

EARL L. SCHOFIELD.

